Firefighters rescue 30 stone pig from flat where it ate Chinese takeaways

Two-year-old Twiglet had been advertised as a 'micro-pig'.

A huge pig had to be put on a stretcher and taken out of an upstairs flat where it was stuck.

Two-year-old Twiglet, who weighs 30 stone, had been advertised as a ‘micro-pig’ and sold for £60 to a grandma who always wanted a pig.

She slept on a mattress, was toilet trained to use a litter tray, and was fed on Chinese takeaways, chocolate and porridge.

At first, she was tiny but she soon ballooned to be larger than a baby elephant.

Despite her large size, she lived a ‘life of luxury’ in the Rotherham flat for two years, with owner Elaine Edwards refusing to let anyone make bacon sandwich jokes about her.

However, when Elaine passed away aged 57, her family were unable to bring Twiglet out of the flat because she was too nervous to get down the stairs.

They had to call in the fire service, the RSPCA, and Green Vets, who sedated the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig so they could carry her down to street level in Dinnington.

Six firefighters loaded her onto a bariatric stretcher and manouvered her down in an operation that took three hours on September 27 this year.

Five foot long Twiglet is now doing well and has been living at Peppers Field Equine & Poultry Rehabilitation Centre in Letwell for the last five weeks.

She has lost about a stone and a half after switching her junk food diet for animal feed.

Elaine’s granddaughter Calli Edwards, 20, said: ‘My nan had always wanted a pig ever since she was a little girl so we bought one for her for £60 off Facebook.

‘She was absolutely besotted with Twiglet and loved her to death. She was a member of the family.

‘Twiglet had her own single bed in my nan’s room with her own teddies – that was life for Twiglet. She got everything she wanted.

‘She was my nan’s world. If you had nothing nice to say about Twiglet, you had to say nothing at all.’

Animal centre trustee Chloe Watson, 33, who lives in Worksop, said: ‘When she first came she was really quiet. I think she was quite depressed after her owner died.

‘She was quiet and reserved but she has now come out of her shell.

‘We are toying with the idea of her going to someone perfect but it looks like she is staying put and we might have to get another pig friend.

‘From what a can gather, she had a fantastic life and ruled the roost.

‘She definitely lived a life of luxury in the flat, but it wasn’t really the right environment for her.’